ETS Tanning Bed Blog

Healthy women with regular UVB exposure from tanning beds have significantly greater vitamin D status and lower serum osteocalcin concentrations than those without is the conclusion of a study out of the University of Missouri at Columbia.

The following is a July member update from the Indoor Tanning Association. 

As you know from our previous alerts, the Internal Revenue Service formally published the final and temporary regulations on June 15. The IRS issued these regulations as “temporary” to provide guidance to users and providers of indoor tanning services. The text of the temporary regulations also serves as the text of the “proposed” regulations.

Before these regulations are final, the IRS is required to receive and respond to public comment. The comments are due by September 13. The ITA will submit comments on behalf of the industry. In addition, our tax counsel and the Board of Directors believe it is important for businesses affected by the regulations to weigh in with the IRS.

Here is an excellent article that John Cannell at the Vitamin D Council recently shared with me. The article explores why governments are not acting on vitamin D and are not likely to act anytime soon.

Why governments are selling Vitamin D short: By Sam Apple, Financial Times.com.

... Reinhold Vieth is frustrated. A thin, bald professor at the University of Toronto’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Patho-biology, Vieth is among the most knowledgeable people in the world on the subject of vitamin D. He began studying it as a graduate student in 1974 and hasn’t changed his focus since. “I stick with vitamin D and follow it where it goes,” he says.

We at ETS Tan have the privilege of working with some great people every day. Lisa Brooking is certainly no exception.

Lisa worked for 17 years in retail before she decided to open a tanning salon. Within five years of first opening her doors, Lisa opened eight new tanning salons in southern Indiana. Today, True Colors Tanning salons welcome customers in Jeffersonville, New Albany, Sellersburg, Georgetown, Scottsburg, Floyds Knobs, Charlestown, Madison and Prospect, Ky.

Some lawmakers in Delaware would like to see kids getting their parents’ permission to use tanning salons. A bill sponsored by Sen. Bethany Hall-Long would not allow teens 14 to 17 to use indoor tanning salons unless they had a consent form signed by a parent or guardian in the presence of a tanning facility operator. Those under the age of 14 would be totally prohibited from using tanning salons, unless medically prescribed by a doctor.

Delaware is following in the footsteps of Ohio lawmakers who already require parental consent for teen tanners ages 13 to 17. But now that state is considering even tighter restrictions.

According to a story on the NBC24 Philadelphia website, Democratic Senator Bethany Hall-Long of Middletown, is sponsoring a bill to make it illegal for a teen to tan in a commercial salon without parental permission.

The Indoor Tanning Association , which represents more 20,000 tanning salons is opposed to any legislation of this kind.

ITA Executive Director John Overstreet said in an interview with Macon.com that indoor tanning is safer than tanning on a beach . "It’s a lot easier to get a sunburn when you’re outside. In a tanning salon, you know exactly what you’re getting."

If the Delaware legislation is made law it would require parents of teens age 14 to 18 years old, to sign an annual consent form, and a doctor's approval for anyone under 14.

Over-regulation is a serious threat and one that could seriously hinder our industry. So, if you live in Delaware or know anyone in Delware, I urge you to write a letter and encourage your friends to write letters speaking out against this ban.

To learn more about legislation in your state, contact your local government or visit the Indoor Tanning Association website .

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that a high percentage of critically ill patients also suffered from vitamin D deficiencies.

Now, I'm all about vitamin D and its incredible health benefits (bone health, immune boosting, etc), but I'm a little concerned about the quality of this study.

First, it only followed 20 male and 22 female patients, making a total of 42 study participants - not exactly comprehensive research. And although the study found that only 7 percent of those individuals (3 of them) had sufficient vitamin D levels, it didn't do the best job of addressing the implications of that or acknowledging why these people were vitamin D deficient.

In the article, the author states "this study cannot establish causality between hypovitaminosis D and adverse outcomes," but he does concede that vitamin D deficiency in critically ill patients could result in potentially worse outcomes than for those whose vitamin D levels are fine.

We believe in and support the research being done by Drs. Lee, Eisman, and Center, and other vitamin D researchers. But I'd love to see further research on this along with suggestions on how we can get vitamin D to critically ill patients.

Because most critically ill patients are typically hospitalized or in care, they're most likely not getting that daily dose of sunlight or UV-B rays that is so critical to vitamin D creation in the human body. One way to do it may be portable face lamps or even lightweight, indoor tanning systems.

Face lamp and indoor tanning systems are commonplace in the medical systems of Nordic countries like Norway and Finalnd, so why aren't we using them here?

Last time, we discussed how to get members to upgrade to the next level of membership in your tanning salon by increasing the value of each level of membership , offering additional upgrades, additional passes, and even giving commissions or bonuses to your staffers who sell them.

So what are some other ideas to improve the value of membership, and get those revenue-generating upgrades?

When you get to Level 3 membership, the benefits should be about the prestige of being members, rather than saving/spending money. That is, when does a bigger discount on a bottle of lotion become just another gimmick? A tanner who has three different bottles of lotion won't be as jazzed by a fourth.

Customers who feel extra special will be extra loyal. They'll become raving fans who become your unpaid sales force because they're telling their friends about your salon. Your Level 2 and Level 3 members may end up being some of your best forms of advertising, so make them want to tell their friends about your salon. The best way to do that is to offer special benefits and programs that only the higher level members can get.

Improving the Value of Membership

Here are a few ideas other salon owners have used to add value to the upper levels of their membership. If you have any of your own, add them to the comments section.

• Offer a wine and cheese night for Level 3 members. Put a price on it. Let Level 1 and 2 members come, but they have to pay for the price.
• Offer a text club. Send texts about specials out in reverse order. Level 3 gets the first round, Level 2 gets the next, and so on.
• Open up during special hours that only Level 3 members can take advantage of.
• Create a referral program. Give rewards to people who refer new customers to your salon.
• Give extra gifts like iTunes or Starbucks gift cards.
• Offer free access to special equipment like the Rejuvasun bed.